Fossil Fuel Fighting Talk

This week’s PowerGen 2022 conference in Dallas, Texas featured some fighting talk from former Texas Governor and U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. He questioned the feasibility of achieving the net-zero targets set for 2050 and defended the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

He campaigned for a balanced approach, saying we need all sources of generation to power the nation. He made it clear that regardless of the plans for wind, solar, batteries, and hydrogen, we are going to need fossil fuels for a long time into the future. He also called for more attention to be paid to areas such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and small modular reactors (SMRs) for nuclear power.

"Does anybody think that we're going to be able to address all of the needs of the United States by 2035, with just renewables?” said Perry. “ And if the world went to net zero by 2050, it would be one of the most apocalyptic loss of life in the world's history.”

You can read our full report on the PowerGen 2022 conference in the July/August issue of Turbomachinery International